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There is a rather unusual sight in Boston at the moment. For three and a half months, from the end of August and through to the middle of November 2005, two America's Cup Class yachts have dropped their anchors right in front the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). They are the two 1992 America's Cup protagonists, the white defender America3 and its unsuccessful challenger Il Moro di Venezia V. Businessman, art lover and excellent yachtsman, Bill Koch was asked by the MFA to present his collections of art to the public. An exhibition entitled "Things I Love" includes works by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Modigliani, Botero. But rather more extraordinary is the inclusion of these rare nautical items from the Cup - two America's Cup Class yachts both fully fitted with mast and keel.
So, when did America's Cup boats become thought of as works of art? Well, if you ever witnessed the lavish ceremonies that greeted the first Il Moro de Venezia launching on March 11th, 1990 in the heart of Venice, you wouldn't even feel the need to ask the question. This was the challenge put together by industrialist Raul Gardini who, with his company Montedison, brought together the world's greatest talents to produce five Il Moro yachts - an armada intended to conquer the America's Cup. The French-American Paul Cayard was signed up as skipper. The Argentine architect German Frers, who already designed Gardini's Maxi boats, set to work on his drawing board at the end of 1988, assisted on the technical front by the American Robert Hopkins Jr., a former colleague of the victorious Dennis Conner and his Stars and Stripes team in Fremantle 1987. The Portuguese Fernando Sena was entrusted as director for the brand new yard, Tencara, at Porto Marghera in the Venetian lagoon, in January 1987. The Frenchman Laurent Esquier, a former of the Baron Bich campaigns was entrusted in the role of operations manager.
In 1990 the hard work began. On March 11th, 1990, Il Moro di Venezia I was launched in Venice. Il Moro II ITA-7, launched at Puerto Portals, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, followed it on August 7th 1990. On April 15th 1991, Il Moro III ITA-15 was ready to join the fleet in San Diego. Also launched in San Diego, on June 15th, 1991, was Il Moro IV ITA-16. Gardini's fleet was completed by an ultimate America's Cup Class boat, with building starting in July 1991. Once completed, the hull was delivered by air to San Diego in the middle of December. Il Moro di Venezia V ITA-25 joined the Pacific Ocean fleet on December 16th 1991.
January 24th 1992, Il Moro V was officially selected to compete for the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Italians finished third in the Round Robin 1, behind New Zealand and the Japanese. They rose to second place in the following Round Robin only to finish third in the next round. Again this saw the Japanese team on Nippon JPN-26 take first place, followed by New Zealand NZL-20. The French, with Ville de Paris FRA-27, finished fourth. During the semi-finals, NZL-20 and ITA-25 eliminated the Japanese and the French.
On the eve of the Louis Vuitton Cup finals, Il Moro di Venezia, skippered by Paul Cayard, was second behind New Zealand, helmed by Rod Davis. In 30 races sailed between January 25th and April 9th, 1992, the Italians had won 21 times. The 1992 Vuitton Cup finals was a dramatic affair. New Zealand won the first race by 1 minute 32 seconds, and then Il Moro won the second one by 1 second! Then New Zealand won three in a row. It was then that Paul Cayard - now down by 4 to 1 (and only one more defeat away from elimination) - protested against his rivals on NZL-20 for the way they were using the bowsprit during certain spinnaker manoeuvres. He won the protest and the race was annulled.
The score was put back to 3-1 and the Italians won the next race. Cayard put in a new protest, again about the use of the bowsprit, a protest which put the Vuitton Cup committee's interpretation of the issue in direct contradiction to that one of America's Cup committee. To put an end to the debate, the New Zealanders decided to give up the controversial use of the bowsprit. They also took Rod Davis off the helm and replaced him with Russell Coutts, who had only helmed the tandem-keeled NZL-20 three times previously. From then on, the run of play went in the Italians' favour and Il Moro di Venezia V won the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup. She had won the right to sail the America's Cup defender, Bill Koch's America3, between 9th to 16th May, 1992.
To this day, Il Moro di Venezia V remains the only Italian challenger to have won an America's Cup race. And the manner in which that race was won is worthy of mention in itself. During the second race, while the boats were racing downwind neck and neck at full speed towards the finishing line, Paul Cayard decided to ease out the spinnaker boom, which had the effect of floating the spinnaker far in front of the bow. By Cayard's guile and cunning, Il Moro V took the race win from America3 by a hair's breadth. Suddenly the Italians looked as though they were capable of causing a serious upset at the America's XXVIIIth Cup. But in the end, they were beaten 4-1, although they certainly did not disgrace themselves and Il Moro di Venezia V ITA-25 was never seriously outpaced by America3 USA-23. If, as the Legend of Cup says, "there is no second", everybody does at least a certain red boat from 1992, called "Il Moro". What a work of art!
J.T./pr
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Year of building
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12/1991 |
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Launched
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16/12/1991 |
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Edition 28(1992)
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Crew
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16 |
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Hull
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Carbon Fiber |
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Mast
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Carbon Fiber |
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L.O.A
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22.9 |
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L.W.L
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18.1 |
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Mast
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32.5 |
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Beam
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5.5 |
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Boom
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Sail Area
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Displacament
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24.5 |
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Draft
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Rating
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IACC |
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Ballast
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